photos by george billard

I wanted to give you a quick gander at what’s happening in our garden, before things really start taking shape. That way you’ll get the whole before/after perspective. We’re making some changes, putting in several meandering stone paths, a meadow in the front, maybe even a shade garden in back, and a new raised bed for more vegetables. G got it together to plant this winter rye in our existing raised beds, sometime in early December I think, and as the weather warmed he plowed it under. It’s a cover crop, sometimes called “green compost” because it feeds and enriches the soil. I’m getting excited thinking about what to plant—kale, lovage, cucumbers, lettuces, carrots. And more medicinal herbs; my bee balm and hyssop and lady’s mantle are all coming back, and even the lavender made it through the winter. G will be babying his tomatoes again, I’m sure, and praying that last year’s horrendous blight won’t be returning. Any ideas from you, gentle reader, on what we should sow?